3 ms·

I'm vaguely familiar with Axler, but I read the beginning of Halmos (finite dimensional vector spaces)

• somethingsome 6y ago
  Halmos are always good books. I didn't know he had this viewpoint on determinants though. What I meant is that on a pure mathematical point of view they are seen as inelegant as they require a basis to be defined. I don't have a problem with that when you are doing maths on manifolds etc.. From a practical perspective, a lot of engineering problems go from 1 to 4 dimensions and are basis dependents. And the determinant becomes a useful tool.
  • llamaz 6y ago
    He doesn't have a particular view on determinants, I got my views on determinants more from Axler than from Halmos. But Halmos' book is linear algebra as preparation for functional analysis, so he tends not to choose a basis for proofs. I agree with you, that in practical paper computations (e.g. on exams) that determinants are an indespensible practical tool.